due to mature and graphic subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> an inmate's request for a cup of soup led to a horrific slashing. >> i didn't see the razor in his hand. did it so fast. >> married 21 years almost. twin boys. >> a case of road rage results in a murder charge for a software engineer. >> life was good. >> now after two years in jail, a jury will decide if he must go to prison for life.

>> 57% of my body was burned. >> cooking a designer drug leads to tragic results for a young woman. >> a spark lit, and it blew up the apartment. and we were all inside. >> and -- >> reminding me something to start with robots going around picking things up. >> the jail's robotic workforce. >> a lot of inmates, first thing they ask is, are they a coffin? alameda county, it's a largely affluent area east of san francisco. its largest city is oakland. though it has many good neighborhoods, it was ranked by forbes magazine as america's third most dangerous city due to crime. 30 miles outside the city is the

county's enormous santa rita jail. it is where anyone arrested and charged with a serious offense might very well find themselves on an extended stay. the majority of the 3,000 men and women incarcerated here are only charged with crimes and are awaiting trial for the resolution of their cases. some are convicted and serving short sentences or are awaiting transfer to state prison. such is the case for philip white. once an aspiring rapper, he was recently convicted of murder. >> look around like [ bleep ]. how did i just go from five star hotels room service to an 8 x 10 cell. i mean people's bathrooms at home is bigger than where i'm living. i don't want to die like this. ♪ ♪ i don't want to cry like this ♪ ♪ tell me why life like this >> after serving a six-year

prison sentence in indiana for drug dealing, white moved to oakland for a fresh start and had made some inroads in the city's rap scene. [ rapping ] >> but his dreams of stardom ended after he fatally stabbed his 44-year-old girlfriend 12 times in the arm and hand. [ rapping ] >> white was living with his girlfriend and her four children. on the night of the murder, he and his girlfriend were at a rap show where white was performing. >> crowd was loving me. females was loving me. i'm just chitchatting and the person i was involved with, you know, they left. left me at the club. when i returned home that night, my stuff was packed. one thing led to another. arguments and accusations about

who i was with at the club. and she was enraged. >> according to news reports, the victim's children heard their mother yelling for white to get out of her bedroom. they discovered her body in bed the next morning. though white did not share details of what happened, he says he acted in self-defense. >> man, it was either my life or the next person's life. you know. once i realized what happened, it was too late. >> but white's jury disagreed. he now awaits transfer to california's notorious san quentin state prison just 40 miles west of santa rita. until he leaves, he will be in the jail's most restrictive high security housing unit for an alleged act of violence that occurred two months earlier. this time the victim was another inmate, robert haynes. >> my face, i couldn't believe it.

>> beautiful face. so sad, man. surprised, man. >> charged with pimping, pandering and human trafficking to which he has pled not guilty, haynes says he had a friendly relationship with white. >> he was cool though. i didn't really have no problems with him till that day the day he lost a bet. >> according to haynes, white lost a bet with him over a football game. the wager was two $1 containers of instant soup from the jail commissary. >> >> he didn't want to give it up. then he did. when he gave it up he was tripping. he started mouthing. i started mouthing him back. come holler at me in the cell. hay ns -- >> hanes says when he stepped inside the cell, white lunged at him. >> sliced me in the face with a razor. i didn't even see the razor in his hand, he did it so fast. i guess he know how to use these.

>> deputy bounds says the blade was most likely extracted from the plastic razor inmates are allowed to have for shaving. >> i think the blade got flushed, which is typical. usually they'll toss it down a toilet because it can easily be flushed. >> haynes was rushed to a local hospital for treatment. he doesn't remember how many stitches he received but he was relieved to have healed as well as he has. >> they stitched me up real good. i heal like wolverine. >> white denies any involvement in the slashing. >> i seen blood on the ground. you know, the deputies saying go to your cell. you know, dude walking out of the pod but other than that, you know, hey, i'm in jail. i don't see nothing. >> everything points to philip white committing the assault. >> deputy bounds says haynes and several other inmates identified white as the attacker. >> haynes did press charges which is very rare in a jail setting. the district attorney ended up dropping those charges not because they felt that white was

innocent of a crime but because white was already here facing a murder charge and he was already looking at life for the murder charge. it doesn't make sense to file another charge on a guy which is going to use up more taxpayer money when you already have a conviction on the guy. >> safety first, america. >> a lifer. ain't got nothing to lose. if i would have known that, i wouldn't have never stepped in his cell. i didn't know that though. >> coming up. >> i usually be charging 500, 700 for 20 songs. >> another inmate risks doing business with philip white and -- >> i just said quit driving like a blankety blank because you just cut me off. >> an angry exchange between drivers results in a death for one and a possible life sentence for the other.

unlike most large urban jails that are located in the heart of downtown, santa rita is nestled among foothills. some 30 miles away from the tough oakland streets where most of its inmates were taken into custody. mornings here often begin shrouded in pacific coast fog and then something else that makes this place unique slowly breaks through -- the jail's robotic workforce. >> a lot of inmates will look at them and the thirst thing they ask is, are they a coffin. >> when i first saw that, it actually scared me. i thought they was shipping bodies out of here. i thought i was going to get killed up in here or something. >> i thought it was something for the inmates to mess with. >> it reminded me of star wars, some robots going around picking things up. >> most people call them robots. but technically, they are automated guided vehicles or agvs. >> what they do is they deliver

food, supplies, clothing, linen to the housing units here at santa rita jail. we're a half mile fence to fence, so it would take a lot of inmates, a lot of the inmate labor, deputies to supervise is the inmates to transport those items to the units so these robots do it for us. we're the only facility i know that actually has this kind of a system. it runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. >> the agvs utilize a wire guided navigation system which is built into two miles of track running between all the jail's housing units and service areas. the series of sensors and infra red signals guides them to precise locations where carts are awaiting transfers to or from the units. once in position beneath the cart, the agv gently lifts it off the ground and takes it away. they are powered by nickel cadmium batteries. >> they will get a charge in the battery area and go out for one

service around the jail. and then they will return to the battery area to get a quick charge, usually about three minutes and it's ready to go. >> they deliver about 12,000 meals a day. this is a custom design that was designed specifically for the sheriff's department. and they're designed in this shape so they fit underneath the food carts. >> santa rita robots. this is how our meals are brought to us. >> some inmates even foresee a day when robots might just replace some other common fixtures at the jail. >> pretty soon they're going to have robots popping us out for pod time. no more deputies, just straight robots. >> that in turn will help the budget. >> that will help the -- >> deputy, do you see your job going the way of a robot? >> no, i don't think so. >> with silicon valley only 40 miles to the southwest, not everyone in santa rita is -- by the agvs. >> i wouldn't classify them as robots. i would classify them as pushers. they push carts from point a to point b.

it's not a big deal, not gps technology. it's kind of robbie the robot. i'm from a tech industry. so i mean, i've seen google earth gps driven vans drive around with no drivers in them. it's kind of a no comparison. >> before his arrest, cort holbrook worked as a software engineer and couldn't imagine spending two years at santa rita, much less facing the possibility of life in prison. >> i would have to say just like any other normal person outside these walls, married 21 years almost. twin boys. four pets. life was good. >> that all changed one afternoon two years earlier.

when holbrook was driving through the oakland suburb where he lives. >> i was going to pick up these pair of glasses at my optometrist in the middle of town, and that evening, to have a nice dinner with the boys. it was their birthday. >> holbrook then had an angry exchange with another driver. >> i didn't have a road rage. i didn't cut anybody off or anything like that. i said something to someone out a window. i just said quit driving like a blankety blank because you just cut me off. this individual flared, pursued me and i pulled over into a parking lot to make a 911 call and he got out of his vehicle and beat the hell out of me. >> according to police reports, both men got out of their vehicles and argued before holbrook was punched twice in the face and knocked to the ground. >> my attacker was not going to settle for less than his pound of flesh and one thing led to another. >> with the other driver's girlfriend watching from inside

their car, holbrook pulled a dagger from his own vehicle and stabbed the man twice in the chest. he also slashed the rear tire of the man's car so that he could not flee. holbrook, believing he was actually the victim then called 911 to report the incident. despite the flat tire, the other man drove to an emergency room where he died three hours later. >> i don't know that i could have done anything different to protect my life in that parking lot on that day than what i did because i had to make a choice, and that choice is what i have to live with. holbrook later learned the man was a convicted felon who had recently been released from prison. he says he acted in self-defense. but was charged with first-degree murder. he pled not guilty and will soon begin a jury trial. >> i think i've done what normal human being would do if they were put in the same situation. everyone wants to survive.

people inherently need to defend theirself, and i had to go home to my wife at the end of the day. and one day i hope to do that. >> coming up -- >> i have been preparing mentally for the worst which is obviously going to prison. >> after two years in jail, cort holbrook's murder trial begins and -- >> calls me a science project. >> a science project. she's awesome. i love looking at all the graphs and scars. >> a young woman is forever scarred when the manufacture of a designer drug leads to a fatal explosion. the instant frizz? not so much. so i'm taking pantene's 72-hour dare. [ female announcer ] beat humidity for a smooth 72 hours. get pantene smooth with moroccan argan oil in a pro-v system. help lock out humidity. keep frizz from forming. go 72-hour smooth. [ eva ] ditch the frizz... i dare you.

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for most santa rita jail inmates, their stay here is full of uncertainty as they await the verdicts or plea deals that could set them free or send them to prison. robert haynes has just gotten word about his future. he will soon transfer to state prison. >> that's going to be my first time, first and last.

it's kind of scary at first. you know, all the prison stories i've heard. i do what i got to do, you know, can't be that bad. >> haynes recently accepted a plea deal in which his charges of pimping and pandering were dropped but he pled guilty to human trafficking and was sentenced to three years. he will take with him a permanent reminder of santa rita and an attack he alleges is by convicted murderer philip white. >> cut my face. it was super wide like nasty. >> if nothing else, haynes' misfortune provided a learning experience for his young cell mate jameel dewer. >> that scar for life, that ain't going nowhere. i asked him how it happened he told me. made me think differently about how i approach people and everything. you never know what you're going to get. you never know if the dude is a lifer or not. you got to talk to him about it. now reverend, that's people be using right there. that's what we used for just

cutting up food and stuff. people use that to cut up people. >> while some inmates might leave jail with scars is, others bring them in from the outside. >> when i first saw inmate pat lexie hudson, i wasn't terribly shocked. i had grown up with somebody who was burned in a house fire and had similar injuries. >> the first thing i thought about when i seen lacy was her burns. it looked like it hurt. i didn't know what happened. >> you get some people who ask you what happened or just stare at you. people don't know how to deal with someone who's different and i'm different. >> lexie hudson is scarred over more than half of her body. cause of those scars is what landed her in jail. >> my boyfriend and his friend were trying to make hash oil in an apartment building with butane. and a spark lit and it blew up the apartment.

and we were all inside. >> the longest time in all our explosions normally when it comes to drug or drug making in houses is usually meth. what we're starting to see is a new trend. they're using butane to extract hash oil from marijuana. the problem with that, they're doing it indoors. anything butane, your pilot light from your stove or heater, next thing you know, boom, explosion. we're starting to see that now. >> the explosion occurred inside the apartment hudson and her boyfriend shared with his mother. >> all i heard was my boyfriend yelling and then i felt like a really, really hot sensation everywhere and i started screaming. the ambulance showed up. they put wet cloths everywhere to stop the burning. it felt like basically i was being stabbed with needles on the inside of my body everywhere like a million needles. they put me on a gurney and

then they took us to the helicopter and then i woke up like a month later. >> hudson's boyfriend evan avilos was also badly burned, but their friend got the worst of the blast. >> i didn't get to see the what he looked like, but i heard it was really bad. so he was burned like 95% of his body. >> the friend died five days later and hudson and avilos were charged with his murder. the charges were eventually reduced and he received three years for involuntary manslaughter and was sent to prison. hudson is serving one year at santa rita for accessory to involuntary manslaughter. but she says she's still haunted by her friend's death. >> he left. he's gone. you know? and to know that i didn't stop them from doing it or i had a part in it, it's -- i feel really guilty because he lost his life. it's hard. >> after the explosion, hudson

endured three painful months of recovery in the hospital. >> 57% of my body was burned. i was wearing a tank top and basketball shorts. no shoes. so i didn't -- but i was the farthest away from like ground zero. >> she underwent numerous procedures including a tracheotomy to help her breathe and nine skin grafts. >> i almost lost my fingers. they were going to amputate all of them because it was burned down to the bone. i didn't have enough skin for everything so they put pigskin on my pinky. and then just before they were going to amputate, they saw like a microscopic little bit of skin that was growing and it kept growing so they grafted the whole thing. >> other parts of hudson's body recovered with help from cadaver skin. >> so what they do is at the take a sheet of cadaver skin and they wrap your leg or wherever and your skin grow underneath it and they can take the cadaver skin off and your skin grows.

it isn't actually grafting. it's all my skin so it's kind of cool. >> ironically, hudson sees her time at santa rita as an invaluable step in her recovery. it's here that she gets daily lessons in how to accept her new appearance in a setting where tact is often a rare treat. trait. >> you're around people 24/7 and people come and go. so you have to deal with people asking why do you look like that? what's that? what's going on with your neck. >> she calls me her science project. >> the science project. she's awesome. i love looking at all the grafts and the scars. i like to trace -- they're so cool. >> remember when you were grabbing my elbow yesterday? she's got a lot of skin. >> and then i told her, that her nose looks like freddy krueger and she hates me for that, but i love it because she has a cindy lou who nose. >> but it took me awhile to get used to the fact that i'm going to look like this forever. so you got to get used to it, and it's really hard to come to that conclusion.

because i didn't look like this before. >> coming up -- >> counting this money. >> and when you say that, add a little swag and slow it down. >> counting his money and getting -- >> philip white goes into the mentoring business. and cort holbrook receives some mentoring from his cellie. >> he's been through a lot, in the system for years and he has good perspective on life. >> let's put it this way. some people pray to god. i pray to john gotti.

good morning everybody. i'm betty nguyen. crowds called for justice for trayvon martin on saturday. the rallies were orkd by the national action network whose president is msnbc host the reverend al sharpton. the events are a week after a florida jury found george zimmerman not guilty in the killing of the unarmed teenager. the final touches are being put together in rio de janeiro ahead of the visit by pope

francis. it will be the pope's first international trip. now it's back to lockup. due to mature and graphic subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. i need the upper door shut. on a typical weekday shift at the santa rita jail, it takes about 275 employees, ranging from civilian workers to sworn deputies and captains to manage the facility and its 3,000 inmates. the housing units and rec yards are usually full of activity. there is a whole other world to underground tunnels and service areas that say active. what we're looking at here is the back tunnel system which connects the maximum security yard to the medium and minimum security yard. in the tunnel system is our kitchen, laundry an our supply.

>> silently making their way through the tunnels are 24 automated guided vehicles or agvs. around here, they're commonly referred to as robots. >> they transport thousands of meals, tons of laundry and countless supplies throughout a jail facility that's a half a mile in length and a quarter mile in width. while the system appears futuristic, it's actually more than two decades old. and was nearly doomed from the beginning. >> the company that installed the system went bankrupt after they installed it here at santa rita jail. so we went ahead and hired on some of their engineers and maintenance people and all the parts and everything we need to keep the robots going 24 hours a day. once in awhile they'll break down but our guys repair them. we have what we call the barn where the robots go to charge and get repaired and we get them back online as soon as possible.

>> this is kind of a dinosaur in the industry. you have to trouble shoot a lot. a lot of times electronics don't fail outright. they get glitch, and it's had 23 years to get glitchy. >> senior agv technician adams runs the workshop. >> the mechanical aspect of it is pretty solid. we have parts for that. it's basically the electronics that are obsolete. they don't make them anymore. we're doing constant maintenance. >> this is pretty brutal environment for electronics. you can hear them bumping and grinding down the guide path over crumbling expansion joints. they take a beating but they keep on doing the job. >> but since they each weigh 1600 pounds, it's best to stay out of their path. >> you have to be very aware of your surroundings working with these things because they can be dangerous. >> you don't want to get caught between these things.

>> the dangers posed by the jail's agvs pale in comparison with those posed by some of its inmates. philip white was recently given a 26 year to life sentence for the murder of his girlfriend. as he awaits his transfer 0 prison, white is in the jail's disciplinary segregation unit where inmates are only allowed out of their cells only one hour at a time one at a time. an aspiring rapper on the outside, white says he usually spends his hour teaching other inmates how to rap. >> counting this money. >> when you say that, add a little swag and slow it down. counting this money and getting these rags. don't do it fast, do it slow. add a little swag to it. >> counting this money and getting these rags. west oakland, california live from the -- >> i teach him how it goes. some dudes even go as far as having their women over a recorder over the phone. that way once they get home, they know how the songs go. >> just keep practice.

you feel what i'm saying. slow it down. don't try to go fast. once you go slow and you learn it, you can go fast and add your own little swag to it. >> white says he ghost writes raps for other inmates but that comes with a price. he arranges for them to deposit money in the jail debit account he uses to buy snacks from the jail commissary. >> $380. how many songs? >> this probably was ten songs. that was 150. that was like five songs. >> i sell anywhere from 20 songs for $500, 20 songs for a thousand. depends on how long i got to put into it. >> i usually be charged $500, $700 for 20 songs. you know, i know you're only trying to get a couple songs right now till you get the feel of it. i ain't going to cash in 45 or 50 songs. >> c.j. johnson is one of his newest buyers. >> me and him know each other for a few years. we go back.

that's my partner. $50. i appreciate it. he doing me a favor, you know? >> i want to put the money on my books. you can do that. you want to do a commissary order. i ain't tripping. >> doing business with white could carry risk. he's in segregation for allegedly slashing the face of robert haynes after losing a bet over two cups of soup. white says he doesn't know how haynes got slashed but he did not appeal the jail's decision. >> surprised i'm going to the hole now because i had a couple fights. once you get found guilty, you know, usually this is where they house you anyways. i knew i was going to get moved here soon regardless. so when my name got brought up, i was surprised. i really wasn't. >> white is due to leave for prison anytime. but he won't know when until the day arrives. >> we don't want the inmates knowing when they're going to be going to prison. it's mainly a security issue. we don't want inmates knowing they're going to be on a bus on a certain morning.

if there was an attempt, if they wanted to escape, we don't want people on the outside to know what time they're going to be on the bus headed to a destination. >> cards kind much stacked up against you going to prison in california. a country boy. my worst fear is being put in a situation again where i got to protect me. you put a person in a cage full of wolves, you know, one or two things, you need a prayer or a predator. i can't be the prey. you know what i mean? >> cort holbrook could also be boarding a bus for prison if a jury finds him guilty of a road rage murder. he stabbed another driver after the two exchanged angry words. holbrook says he came out on the losing end of a fistfight and then stabbed the man in self-defense. >> that's how i'm here. not because i'm a bad person or or i'm a violent person because i'm not. i'm here because of a very bad situation that in my opinion didn't have a winning scenario.

not with the individual that wanted to do me damage. >> holbrook, a former software engineer, is married with twin sons. he spent two years at santa rita waiting for his trial to get under way. >> two years is a long time to wait to see if you're really guilty of a crime. you know what i mean? so it kind of grates on you after awhile. an individual like myself stands out pretty plainly. i don't have a swagger like an inmate or a convict. i think i'm well spoken. i'm pretty quiet. i don't put myself out there in people's faces typically. i don't cause problems. >> holbrook is -- he's a different breed compared to most of the other guys in here. >> he looks out of place, but he's adapted and he's kind of got to know how everything works and what's going on, you know, with the politics in the pod and everything. >> a better card player. that's for sure. >> helping holbrook adapt is his

cellie jeff reddick who has spent more than 17 years incarcerates on a litany of burglary, theft and drug possession convictions and is currently serving two years for burglary and theft, as well. >> let's put it this way. some people pray to god. i pray to john gotti. >> one time i had to correct my mom. she says man, your friends are just bringing you down. i told her, you know, it's not them. it's me bringing them down. >> he's an okay cellie. he's been flew a lot. he's been in the system for years and he has good perspective on life. so he's been mentoring me. >> he seems like a good guy. i mean, as far as good can get in here. you know what i mean? >> my cellie is actually a breath of fresh air because his naivete in this field, i find it refreshing that he is so knowledgeable in other areas of life.

>> it's a little easier for me because i've been out there in that square bare world doing pretty much that. >> i mean, he still sees is rough around the edges when it comes to the environment but he knows enough to keep out of people's business. he knows, you know, how to be decent. you know, because if being decent is a problem, then it's a problem to be alive, you know what i mean? but to be decent, he's not going to encounter any issues. he's doing all right actually. >> you get what you give here. if you give respect, you get respect typically. and that's how everyone has to live day by day here. you're part of this the system. breakfast at 3:00. lunch at noon, dinner at 3:00. and you do it again and again. kind of like groundhog day. >> there will soon be one major change to both holbrook's routine and his future. his murder trial is about to begin. because there are few witnesses

and no disputing that holbrook stabbed the other man, the trial is expected to last little more than a week. >> you know a charge of murder carries a life sentence. and as i was fighting in that parking lot that day, i'm still fighting now. >> coming up -- >> these are my work clothes. >> going to trial brings reminders of all cort holbrook has lost. and -- >> the neighbors were crying. it was like they had seen a war scene. i couldn't even conceive what had happened. >> lexie hudson gets a visit from the woman whose apartment she helped blow up.

come on, ladies. come on out. >> the deputies who manage the 3,000 inmates at the santa rita jail. >> get out of your bunk now. notice distinct differences in the social patterns between mail inmates and the female inmates who make up about 10% of the total population. >> i feel like the female inmates they bond up differently because obviously, the males have to puff their chest and they have so much to prove. versus females they create families here. that helps them through the day and whatever helps them they'll take it. >> lexie hudson has not only made friends in her maximum security housing unit, they have helped her through one of the toughest periods of her life, adjusting to the burns that have scarred more than half of her body. >> you kind of build a friendship quickly if you like the person. >> they couldn't have put two more people --

>> we're so different but we're so on different levels. >> it's ridiculous. >> we're like two peas in a pod. that's what we say all the time. >> we're like two little kids in here sometimes. can't stop laughing. >> most of the people stay here for a while so you can build connections with them. people always tell me i'm pretty in here which is kind of nice. i mean it helps. >> hudson also decorates her bunk with reminders of home. >> toothpaste on the back of my pictures. it's like glue. helps them stick because we're not allowed to have glue, tape, none of that stuff. >> why do you put your pictures? >> so i can lay down and look at them because i'm on my bed so when i lay back, they're all up here. >> what's one of the best pictures of you from before. >> this. this is me and my boyfriend before the accident. >> that's evan, yeah, that's evan with his hair that he doesn't have anymore. >> hudson and her boyfriend evan avilos were severely burned when they accidentally blew up the apartment they shared with his mother. they were attempting to make a designer drug called hash oil. a friend of theirs died in the

explosion which led to a three-year sentence of involuntary manslaughter for avilos and one year of accessory to involuntary manslaughter for hudson. >> i hated him the first couple months. >> i was fighting with him constantly. feels kind of stupid now. at the time that the accident had happened, a couple days before i told him not to do it, the hash oil thing but we were broke. my boyfriend didn't have a job. we had to make rent. >> through it all, the couple managed to hold their relationship together. >> when he gets out, we plan on getting married. we're not sure exactly when, but we know we'll be together when we get out and it's just two years is a little time compared to the rest of our life. we have to move on because that's life. and that's the same with regret or resentment or guilt. you have to find a way to let it go and move on. >> cort holbrook would love nothing more than to let go and move on. but when an argument with another driver turned into i an fight, holbrook says he stabbed the man in self-defense.

now after two years inside the santa rita jail, his trial has gotten under way. the street clothes he's allowed to wear in court are a painful reminder of all he's lost. >> these are my work clothes. this is my life. this was what i looked like out on street. this was who i was. the judge in his case has not allowed cameras in the courtroom and holbrook has been advised not to discuss the proceedings, but he is bracing himself. >> i have been preparing mentally for the worst. which is obviously going to prison. but i don't think anybody can truly prepare themselves 100% for what that's going to be like. >> ready? >> every day after court, holbrook returns to his maximum security housing unit.

>> to be in a maximum classification house, you have to have some pretty serious charges or an extensive disciplinary history within the jail system. with holbrook being in here, it's his first time but it's a serious charge. so that's why he's placed in here. >> holbrook has been incarcerated for the two years leading up to his trial because he could not make the $3 million bail set by the judge. he thinks one reason it was so high was because of the tattoos he acquired ten years earlier. >> i think these tattoos probably got me the most trouble. that's life. when you're born and these are the cards that you're dealt during life. and there's a queen of hearts for my wife. a two of diamonds for my twin boys. four of clubs for my dogs and an ace for me. >> the skeleton is life? >> represents life and death. something -- something common

from mythological times. you know? >> that one probably got me in the most trouble. i've got flaming skulls that are kind of in the genre of ed harding or his type of artwork. they're just flaming skulls like i said, and yeah, they do have some bling here. so they were rich pirates. the d.a. at the time quickly seized upon how negative that particular tattoo looked and that i must be a violent person. and i can't be allowed to be in the community. i'm just too high of a risk. i guess the thought that ran through my mind was gee, this is the only thing they can come up with to set my bail was the nature of my tattoos or that i had tattoos? i'm a violent person for having tattoos. i'm just a danger to society. >> coming up, cort holbrook's jury returns its verdict.

there are certain daily routines at the santa rita jail like the automated vehicles that make their way across jail grounds ferrying food, supplies and laundry to various housing units. inside those units it's a different story as 3,000 men and women find themselves dealing with the range of emotions that come with being an incarcerated inmate. lexie hudson says jail has been less about fear and anger than it has been about gratitude. >> this whole experience, not just the accident, jail, dealing with family members has really made me wiser i want to say. this has shown me to take the little things and the people around me not for granted. because they could be gone the next day. you know? and i've learned that there are certain people in my life no matter what i'll do they're

going to be here. >> hudson has also learned something about forgiveness and there's probably been no better teacher than her boyfriend's mother, monique avilos lost everything when her son and hudson accidentally blew up her apartment while trying to manufacture a designer drug. >> it took place in my home. i was at work. it was a normal day. just got up and went to work like normal. the kids were normal. everything was just normal. >> i see something in your pockets setting it off though. rings. >> monique returned home to find her street blocked off by a fleet of emergency vehicles, police and firefighters. >> the neighbors were crying. it was like they had seen a war scene. i couldn't even conceive what had happened. i would have no clue, not in a million years what had happened. >> lexie hudson. >> because the damage was caused by criminal activity, monique's insurance policy would not reimburse her for her material losses. but monique is happy that she

still has her son and lexie whom she regularly visits. >> you know, i'm just grateful to have them alive. that's it, period. everything else is replaceable. it's all just material stuff. >> oh, look how beautiful your hair looks. my love. >> how are you? >> good, i like your earrings. >> thanks. put a little jewelry on today. >> hi. >> hi. >> look at your hair. it's so pretty. >> thank you. how you feeling? >> i'm okay. >> yeah. >> yeah, how are you? >> pretty good. >> though she is not yet married, hudson sees monique as a mother figure. >> my mother-in-law is a big strength in my life. oh, my gosh. she helps me smile, helps me remember to think positively. >> looking forward to getting out. >> i know, right? i'm excited, 25 days. >> is it 25 days and counting, huh? marking oof off the calendar. can't wait. >> we're going to make life as normal as possible, right? >> yes. >> yeah.

and we have to make sure that we keep you on track with the doctor. >> that's one of the first things i'm going to do is go see my doctor again because i missed a visit so i can get this back in the works, the aesthetic surgery. >> okay. good. i just want you to stay solid. i know -- look at what you've been through. >> she looks really good. her spirits are really high. we're happy because if she's strong she'll make my son strong. and it's going good. we're looking forward to her coming out and putting all this behind us. >> with her one-year sentence nearing an end, hudson's future is hopeful. the future is much less clear for the majority of inmates here who are still awaiting the resolution of their cases. the process can sometimes last years. >> inmates come back from court sometimes they have a verdict and they've been sentenced to do many years in prison and those inmates who get those long sentences are dealing with a lot of things emotionally. they're going to be taken away from their family, their friends, if they have children, their children.

>> holbrook. >> it took nearly two years for cort holbrook's case to even make it to trial. charged with murder, the trial lasted eight days. his jury deliberated for two days. and just an hour ago, is they gave holbrook their verdict. >> the verdict was not guilty of murder which is my original charge. but the jury found me guilty of voluntary manslaughter. my understanding is that the state of california believes that i took a human life unlawfully. whether that's under the guise of excessive force or without due cause. i was hopeful that it was going to be an acquittal. but i will go home. >> when? >> i don't know. that's up to the judge. >> holbrook could receive a sentence anywhere from three to 11 years in state prison.

minus time he's already served in jail. he is due back in court for sentencing in two months. until then, he will continue life at santa rita. >> it's been a long road. there's a lot to get used to in here. i mean, i am surrounded by the criminal element. and that's not a lifestyle that i lived. i lived in a nice community, wholesome community. and things happened. you brush up against people in life and unfortunately, that led to a death. over a simple verbal exchange. albeit there may have been a swear word here or there, something that you and i have seen many times, a cabbie flipping someone off, someone saying something turned into something very different.

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